In March 1965, the Americans launched Operation Rolling Thunder as over 100 American fighterbombers attacked targets in North Vietnam. Rolling Thunder was scheduled to last eight weeks but instead went on for 3 years. The majority of the eight million tons of bombs were dropped in South Vietnam against Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army postions. The North Vietnamese reacted to the air strikes by decentralizing their factories and supply bases, thus minimizing their vulnerability to bomb damage.
Rolling Thunder caused the Communist Party to reassess its own war strategy. From 1960 through late 1964, the Party believed it could win a military victory in the south "in a relatively short period of time." With the new American military commitment, confirmed in March 1965 when Johnson sent the first combat troops to Vietnam, the Party moved to a protracted war strategy. The idea was to get the United States bogged down in a war that it could not win militarily and create unfavorable conditions for political victory. The Communist Party believed that it would prevail in a protracted war because the United States had no clearly defined objectives, and therefore, the country would eventually tire of the war and demand a negotiated settlement.
Hiding the base areas had always been a high priority for the Vietcong. Now, with American planes everywhere, it was more vital than ever to protect them. In remote jungles there were few problems, but nearer cities and towns it was more difficult. In order to protect their bases from the air strikes the Vietcong built enourmous systems of underground tunnels. The tunnels were not just shelters, they were fighting bases capable of providing support for troops. Even if a village was in enemy controll, the NLF beneath were still able to conduct offensive operations. Even if the American troops found the entrance to the tunnels, which were often boobytrapped if abandoned, they could not go into them as they were often too small for the larger American soldier.
In an attempt to disrupt North Vietnamese sea routes used to funnel supplies into the south, Operation Market Time, a joint effort between the U.S Navy and the South Vietnamese Navy commenced. The operation was highly successful in cutting off coastal supply lines and reulted in the North Vietnamese shifting to the more difficult land route along the Ho Chi Minh trail.
The first U.S attacks against the Ho Chi Minh trail occured in 1965. Throughout the war the trail was heavily bombed with little success in halting the tremendous flow of soldiers and supplies,on which the Vietcong relied heavily on, from the North.
The most infamous incendiary device used by the Americans was Napalm, a mixture of petrol and a chemical thickner which produces a tough sticky gel that attaches itself to the skin. The igniting agent, white phosphorus,continues burning for some time. In 1962 Operation Ranchhand began, The goal of Ranchhand was to clear vegetation making it more difficult for the Vetcong to conceal themselves for ambushes. As the war continued, the scope of Ranchhand increased. Vast tracts of forest were sprayed with “Agent Orange”,a herbicide containing the deadly chemical Dioxin. Guerilla trails and base areas were exposed, and crops that fed the Vietcong were destroyed. This chemical not only destroyed trees but also caused genetic malfunctions,especially in children.
The Battle of Ia Drang Valley marked the first major battle between U.S troops and the North Vietnamese (NVA) inside South Vietnam. American troops responded to the NVA threat by using helicopters to fly directly into the battle zone. Upon landing the troops quickly disembarked then engaged in fierce fire fights,supported by heavy artillery and B-52 air strikes. Troops were also used in an aggressive strategy of “search and destroy”. The objective of this was to find and then kill members of the NLF. The U.S soldiers found this difficult as the Vietnamese civilians and members of the NLF looked alike and civilians were often killed by mistake.
In January,1968, the turning point of the war occured as 84’000 Vietcong guerillas aided by NVA troops launched the Tet Offensive attacking more than one hundred cities and towns throughout South Vietnam. The enemy even attacked the U.S embassy in Saigon in which Vietcong commando’s invade the building. The Vietcong were eventually beaten back with losses of 40’000 men but they had proved that the Americans were still not in control of the country, and although they had lost the military battle,they had won a psychological battle.
Air forces proved essential for Americas miltary effort in Vietnam, so much so that many air combat innovations occurred over the course of the war. New tactical ideas ranged from search and destroy missions to bombing raids. The Vietcongs tactics were highly successful against the Americans. They would avoid pitched battles against the Americans unless the odd’s were clearly in their favour. To counter the American build-up, Vietcong recruitment was stepped up and more North Vietnamese Army troops were infilerated into South Vietnam.
James Knight
